


Veteran Cuddler, Expert Snuggler

by happyaspie



Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [56]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Avengers Tower, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Banter, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Helicopter Mentor Tony, Peter Parker Turns Eighteen, Precious Peter Parker, Soft Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, Very Brief Mention of Adoption, holding babies, soft tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: Tony tries to take Peter away for his 18th birthday.  Anywhere he wants to go but Peter cryptically declines only saying that he has something he's been waiting to turn 18 to do.  Tony, of course, can't leave it alone and ends up tracking him down.or:Peter and Tony eventually figure out that holding babies at the local hospital is something they both secretly enjoy.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [56]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1397362
Comments: 24
Kudos: 308





	Veteran Cuddler, Expert Snuggler

"Hiya, Pete!" Tony greeted with a smile as his favorite nearly adult walked into his lab for one of their regularly scheduled internship days. Though calling it an internship was a bit of a stretch. While the kid was definitely his intern by the books, the time they spent together had long since stopped being solely professional. More often than not, once the actual work was done they spent the remainder of their time together watching movies in the penthouse or just goofing off. To the point that at least half of the Stark Industries staff _assumed that they were related_. 

"Hey, Tony," Peter returned and then strode over to where his mentor was rapidly writing out a multitude of calculations mid-air. "What are you working on?" 

"A proportional-integral-derivative controller," Tony replied while still running the numbers across the holographic board. 

It never ceased to amaze Peter how the man could work out complex dualities while humming along to the music and carrying on casual conversations. He'd never in his life seen anyone that could multi-task the way Tony could. "Neat. What do you need me to do?" he asked as he arranged the papers he'd carried in with him on his desk.

Tony paused, his hand still in the air where he'd been writing out a completely new set of mathematics and looked towards Peter. "What you can do, is start figuring out where you want to go for your birthday. Seeing as it falls on a Saturday and it's your big eighteen, I thought we could travel somewhere. Where ever you want to go. No limits." he said with a grin that wasn't reciprocated.

"Oh," Peter replied with a crease in his brow. "I- well, I sort of already made plans for the day," he stuttered. Not because he was against the man taking him somewhere. They had done something similar for his 'big sixteen.' It was just that he really did have plans.

"What kind of plans are we talking about, Kiddo?" Tony asked, not sounding the least bit disappointed. "Something with Ned? Because he could come too. I don't mind."

For a few seconds, Peter shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stared down at the floor. When he looked up again, he could see Tony watching him with interest and sighed. "It's not like that, Tony. I didn't make plans to do anything with anyone. There's just- there's something I wanted to do that day. Maybe, maybe we could go somewhere the week after?"

Tony scoffed and swiped away the translucent image that had been between them. "What could you possibly want to do that's better than going with me too, I don't know, France or Melbourne or- Tulsa," he added with a dismissive flourish of his hand.

"Why would I want to go to Tulsa?" Peter incredulously inquired.

"Why would you want to stay here?" Tony shot back with a smile.

Peter sat down in his chair and groaned. "I- I already told you, Tony. There's something I want to do that day but I promise we can all go to dinner later that night and then you can take me anywhere except Tulsa the very next weekend," he swore before giving his mentor a pleading look. "Can we please just drop it? It's not that big of a deal."

Deflating slightly, Tony gave in. He wasn't trying to upset the kid. "Sure, Buddy but you'll still have to decide where you want to go," he said softly. Then with a tilt of his head and a lilt to his voice he playfully added that 'Not Tulsa' didn't narrow it down much.

Peter nodded, thankful that the subject had been dropped and got to work on the documents that still needed his attention. After that, the room became devoid of any conversation at all for quite some time. Though, it wasn't uncomfortable. Nor did it last. With in the next twenty minutes, Peter was hopping up out of his chair and happily crossing the room towards his mentor. "Can you sign this, please?"

"Depends, what is it?", Tony asked while pretending to scan the top sheet. He wasn't actually concerned, he was just happy that the kid was talking to him. He'd been somewhat worried that he'd touched a nerve and that they would be working in silence for the remainder of the afternoon.

Peter smiled and pointed towards the line that required an 'employer's signature', eager to explain.   
"I signed up for the work-study program for my senior year so that I could get out of classes an hour early, but They need proof that I have a job or an internship. I figured that would be pretty easy since, you know, technically I do," he said, handing over the pen he'd been using in the process. 

Tony began to scrawl his name in the appropriate places and sighed. As nice as it would be to have the kid around more, he had a feeling that the extra time would be spent doing the _unofficial_ part of his internship. As in, Swinging all over New York doing his spider thing. "You're not actually going to be showing up here an hour earlier, are you," he stated without even a hint of question. 

Peter just beamed back at his mentor and snatched the papers back the second he lifted the pen. "Nope!"

__________

"Are you sure you would rather stay here for your birthday? May said we could rain-check the big dinner out and surely whatever it is that you're wanting to do can wait a few days," Tony nearly whined a couple of weeks later. "Come on, Pete. I've been counting down the days to my escape to- wherever you pick. Oahu? Guadalajara? Nairobi? Broek op Langedijk? Where are we going, kid?"

"I haven't decided yet and yes I'm sure I want to stay here. I've told you that. Many times," Peter replied with aggravation. It seemed that they had been having the same conversation each and every time he'd entered the lab since his birthday had first come up. He was exhausted from having to defend his choices. "I have something I want to that day and I've been waiting forever to turn eighteen so that I can," he snapped, realizing too late that he may have said too much.

"Do what exactly? What are you wanting to do?" Tony questioned but when Peter clenched his jaw, he relented slightly. "I'm just trying to understand, Pete."

For a moment, Peter considered filling the man on his plans but quickly decided not too. He didn't have the time nor the energy to explain anything at the moment. His head had been pounding since he'd walked into the lab and the bickering, mild as it may be, wasn't helping. "Can we please stop talking about this? My head hurts and I still need to finish this paperwork that you asked me to fill out," he quietly begged, unsurprisingly leading Tony to reach out and place the back of his hand on his forehead.

Content with the lack of heat coming off of the boy's brow, Tony reached down to scoop up the numerous papers he'd left for the kid to complete on his behalf. "Why don't you go upstairs to your room and lay down?" he suggested with an almost sad half-smile. "I can finish this paperwork myself and wake you up for dinner."

Peter nodded and walked off leaving Tony to try and decipher what the kid could possibly be waiting to turn eighteen to do. He'd never mentioned any desire to get a tattoo or piercing, though he assumed that was possible. Just not probable. He also didn't think Peter was likely to be waiting to enlist considering he already had the whole Spider-man gig going on. 

After some thought, he supposed there could be some excitements found in the ability to buy your own ticket to a rated R movie but the boy had indicated that he'd not made plans with friends. He couldn't picture him going to sit in a theater alone. Nor could he imagine the kid feeling the need to rent a car or a hotel room just because he could.

From there, the only other things that came to mind didn't make any sense. The smoking age had fairly recently been raised making it a non-option. Not that he thought Peter would ever smoke. And while spray paint could be purchased at eighteen in some states, New York required you to be twenty-one. 

When no other reasonable options came to mind he decided it was time to consult with May. If there was anyone more equipped than him to sort out what was going inside that kid's head it was her.

"Hey, May. How are you doing?" he politely greeted, not wanting to dive right into his numerous questions.

"I'm doing fine," May giggled, knowing that the man was holding something back. He never called her just to idly chit-chat. There was always an altering motive. Always. "-but I'm going to go ahead and assume that's not why you called."

Tony chuckled. He should have known that she would see right through him. She was one of the few people who could. "You know me so well," he said, still smiling.

"After two years of practically co-parenting with you, I should hope so," May laughed. 

"Yeah Okay, that's fair," Tony replied with an air of resignation as he prepared himself for the conversation to come. "I'm actually calling about Pete. Do you know what he's doing on his birthday?"

"No. Is he being all cryptic with you too?" May asked, sounding not at all disturbed by the lack of details she'd been given.

"Yep. I keep asking but the most information I've gotten back so far is that whatever it is, he's been waiting to turn eighteen to do it," Tony said, still racking his brain for something, anything that met that criterion and made sense. When he still came up blank and May didn't seem at all surprised by his assessment he sighed. "What's he been telling you?"

"That he has plans to go out during the day and wants to do dinner after," May returned with a verbal shrug. "That and the trip you want to take him on the next weekend."

"I wanted to take him that weekend," Tony grumbled under his breath causing May to momentarily laugh before clearing her throat and taking on a more serious tone.

"Look, Tony, he's turning eighteen," she matter-of-factly stated, "He's practically an adult, and we both know he's a good kid. Whatever he's going to do, it'll be fine. Maybe he'll tell us about it at dinner."

"Maybe," Tony breathed out, knowing she had made a valid point. The kid didn't really keep secrets. Not anymore anyway, and she was right, he did trust him. Being reminded of such did make him feel better about the situation even if the curiosity was still far from being quelled. 

In fact, the lingering curiosity ended up following him throughout the rest of the days leading up to Peter's Birthday. Though he made a concerted effort not to question the kid about it anymore. Not even the morning of, when he called the teenager at the crack of dawn just to be the first one to wish him a happy birthday. Instead, he laughed at the fact that May had been one step ahead of him, having the boy a text message right after midnight. After that, the two of them had exchanged a few friendly words before the call ended, leaving Tony to go about his day.

Or try to go about his day. He found it to be exceedingly hard to concentrate on anything while his mind continued to ponder what on Earth his kid could be getting up to. Eventually, his want of answers grew, and he ended up trying to call Peter's phone. There was no answer. There was no answer the second, third, or the fourth time he called either, thus giving him everything he needed to justify tracking the kid's phone. 

Without one lick of remorse, Tony ordered his AI to get him a location, half expecting to find that the teenager had left his phone at home. That, however, was not the case. Within a matter of seconds, FRIDAY had a map up in front of him and a little spider icon hovering over NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. With his heart instantly in his throat, he began to try to call May. When no answer was received, he immediately grabbed some keys and peeled out of the large garage. 

It wasn't until he arrived at the hospital that he remembered exactly how enormous it was and had no idea where to even begin looking for the kid. A quick check with FRIDAY later, he had the coordinates on his phone and was rapidly entering the sliding front doors. From there, he used the elevator to reach the corrected height and then took several rights and lefts, each one bringing him closer to his destination. 

It didn't really hit him wherein the hospital he'd ended up until he was looking through a window where he found his kid sitting in a rocking chair, holding a tiny baby tightly in his arms. For a moment his heart jumped up into his throat as he tried to figure out exactly who's baby it was. Before he could decide a familiar woman opened the doors and smiled warmly in his direction. 

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Stark! I didn't expect to see you today. It is Saturday, isn't it?" she asked and when Tony confirmed that is was Saturday she took by the hand and started pulling him into the room before he had time to protest. "We have a new volunteer," she said, laughing lightly. "He's so nervous, I bet he would love to get a few tips from an expert," she announced and the next thing Tony knew he was standing in front of Peter, both of them looking at the other with wide eyes. 

"Peter! This is Mr. Stark. He's one of our _veteran baby cuddlers_ ," the nurse woman said, smiling obliviously between them. "-and it's your lucky day because he's typically only here on weekday mornings. He should be able to answer any questions you might have," she added before leaving the two of them to 'get to know each other'

Once she was gone, the only sounds left in the room were a few gurgling cries and the steady beeping of monitors placed haphazardly throughout the room. Peter clutched the baby to his chest and Tony stood before him, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck before breaking the awkward silence. "So- this is what you've been waiting to turn eighteen for, huh?" he said.

"Uh, y-yeah," Peter replied before bringing his attention back to the infant in his lap and smiled softly. He'd been told that the little boy had been given up for adoption and that his new parents wouldn't be there to pick him up for a couple of more days. The baby needed someone to hold, rock, and sing to him until they arrived, and he's been more than happy to oblige. 

Tony took a deep breath and pulled a second rocking chair up beside Peter's before going and asking the nurse, who was weaving between patients, what he could do. Then he returned to the chair with an infant in one arm and a small bottle of formula in the other. Once he had his little charge situated he looked towards Peter and smiled. "This is, Hope. She's been here for a few months, but she should be ready to go home soon. Her dad had to go back to work a couple of weeks ago and her mom has been having to spend more time at home with her twin brothers," he causally explained, before looking down and guiding the bottle between the baby's parted lips. "Look at you. You're getting so big! Pretty soon your gonna go home and start giving your big brothers a run for their money, huh," he cooed as Peter watched him closely.

"Tony- How long have you been doing this?" Peter asked with wonder. "-and how come you never told me."

"Well," Tony said with a small laugh, "I've never actually told anyone that I do this. I mean, Pepper knows, of course. But the thing is, if I started broadcasting it, people would think I was doing it for the publicity or attention. It's been years and I suppose I've gotten pretty used to keeping it to myself."

"Why do you do it?" Peter questioned but before the man could answer him the baby in his own arms began to cry.

"Try holding him to your shoulder, like this," Tony said, changing positions and causing the baby he'd been holding to cry as the bottle was momentarily removed from her mouth. Then he watched as his kid cautiously maneuvered the tightly swaddled infant upwards and smiled before bringing the little girl back down to his lap, "I hear you, Princess. No more interrupting your lunch, got it," he chuckled, laughing outright when the comment made the teenager beside him laugh as well. 

"I never imagined someone so small could hold so much power over Tony Stark," Peter quipped.

"Yeah, well, I have a soft spot for babies. Even spider-babies who try to give me a heart-attack every other week," he replied and then tilted his head in a thoughtful manner. "Of course I guess you're not so much a spider-baby anymore, huh, kiddo. You're eighteen now. A proper Spider-man."

"I've always been a proper Spider-man, Tony," Peter blandly returned, but he couldn't quite hold back the smile that was tugging the corners of his mouth.

"Sure, kid," Tony said with a shake of his head.

"You know, you never answered me," Peter reminded, once he was sure the little boy he was holding was content again. "Why do you do it, Tony?"

"This?" Tony asked as if there were anything else the kid could possibly be asking him about at the moment. The thing was, no one had ever asked him that before, and he was having trouble putting it all into words. "I don't know. I guess- I guess because when I'm in the Iron Man armor, helping people- saving the world or what have you, means being destructive and ruthless. I like knowing that I can make a difference without leaving a ripple of chaos in my wake. I can hold one of these babies or go down a few floors and color with some of the in-patient children and know that my presence was nothing but positive. I don't even need a suit to do it," he mused and then flipped the subject as quickly as possible. "What about you, Mr. I-have-plans-that-I-don't-intend-on-telling-anyone-about?" 

"I was going to tell you!" Peter rapidly defended. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever. From Tony specifically. The man always figured him out. "But I was sort of worried that you, well, everyone, really, would think that me wanting to do this was- I don't know- stupid or something."

"I would never think that anything you were passionate about was stupid, Pete. Especially something like this," Tony said softly. He hated the way the kid sounded as though he truly believed that he should be embarrassed for anyone to know that he wanted to volunteer to hold infants in need of some additional attention. "You're such a caring, loving, gentle person, and I am just so proud of you, Buddy. You never have to hide that part of yourself from me. Or anyone, for that matter. It's part of who you are and you should be proud of that too."

Peter nodded his head and adjusted the baby on his shoulder so that he was no longer drooling through his shirt. "Thanks, Tony," he uttered with a slight blush to his cheeks. 

Tony was just about to open his mouth to say more when the nurse who had 'introduced' them, came back into the room. "Well, what do you think of our newest recruit, Mr. Stark? Is he getting the hang of everything?" she asked after she'd set down the numerous supplies she'd carried back in with her.

"He's a natural," Tony replied, looking fondly in Peter's direction. Then the doors opened up and a familiar couple came walking into the room. "Lookie there, Little Miss. Your mama and daddy are here to see you," he whispered, already standing up to pass the little girl over to her parents.

"Are you leaving now?" Peter asked when the man didn't sit back down right away. 

"Do you want me to leave now?" Tony asked with a small laugh. He was well aware that he'd intruded upon what the kid thought was going to be a private affair.

"No!" Peter shot back with more passion than was strictly necessary, but he didn't want his mentor to think that he was running him off. Now that the man was there, he was enjoying his company. "I, uh, I actually kind of like sharing this with you, Tony. Us volunteering together I mean."

"I like this too," Tony replied before throwing a hand up in suggestion. "You know, we could make this a regular thing. We could spend out Saturdays, just you and me, cuddling some babies," he suggested with a teasing grin, but he meant every word. He would happily spend his weekends sharing one of his favorite past times with his kid.

"That sounds awesome, Tony," Peter returned. "Just not next Saturday because apparently we're going to be in Tulsa," he added with a smirk.

Tony feigned annoyance and pointed an accusatory finger in the teenager's direction. "Hey! I thought we said not Tulsa!"

"Yeah well, you brought it up so you must want to go there," Peter cheekily taunted.

"I also brought up Kyoto, Vancouver, and Kazan," Tony pointed out, hoping that the kid was messing with him. He had zero desire to go anywhere near Tulsa. He wasn't even sure why he's mentioned it. The name had just- popped in his head and come out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Yes. And about thirty-five other cities, a quarter of which I've never even heard of," Peter playfully retaliated, though he made sure to keep his voice low as it occurred to him that he seemed to have lured the baby he was holding to sleep. "You know what? Why don't you just surprise me," he whispered

"Sure, kiddo. I'll get right on that but first, I need to teach you the fine art of transferring a sleeping baby back into their bassinet," Tony said, matching Peter's low tone.

Peter smiled as he carried the sleeping bundle across the room and tried to follow Tony's instructions. He froze when the infant started to whine, but he found himself feeling both proud and relieved when he went right back to sleep. "Thanks, Tony," he quietly uttered.

"Yeah well, I slap full of all kinds of wisdom," Tony quipped. "You about ready to head out? Had you baby fix for the day? All cuddled out?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to head out," Peter agreed with a contented sigh. "I could use a few more cuddles though,"

Tony wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulder and led them both out into the hallway. "Well, lucky for you, so could I," he said, his smile then turning from genuine to teasing. "-and its good thing I'm not just a veteran baby cuddler. I'm also an expert spider-baby snuggler," he added in an attempt to get a rise out of his kid.

"Spider-man," Peter corrected, emphasizing the man part. Tony had already said it himself. He was eighteen now. No longer a baby.

"Do you want my snuggles?" Tony asked with an eyebrow quirked.

"Um, yes?" Peter replied, laughing at the ridiculousness of the question. Never, in a million years would he have ever thought that one day Tony Stark would be asking him if he wanted to snuggle.

"Then you'll remain a Spider-baby," Tony bantered with glee,"-because I refuse to snuggle _a Spider-man._ "

Peter hummed a natural acknowledgment and looked towards his mentor. "Would you perhaps settle for a being an expert Peter Parker snuggler instead?", he asked with mirth.

Tony barked a surprised laugh, pulled the kid in a bit more closely, and kissed him right on the side of the head. "That, my favorite young adult, would not be settling."

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out with me on [tumblr!](https://yes-i-am-happyaspie.tumblr.com%22) Read some short stories and check out my ever-evolving art.
> 
> Also, be sure to comment below! What was your favorite part?


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